There are many parallels to their presidencies. Both presided over a crippled economy. Both pursued socialist policies that extended Americans’ suffering far beyond what should have occurred in a free market. Both were inexplicably popular with voters.

And both led the U.S. into a war that ended up “fixing” the economy.

Wait a minute, Obama hasn’t done that last one … yet.

As North Korea postures and makes noises about war, the question on everybody’s mind is whether this younger Kim is hot-blooded enough to make good on his threats, unlike his father, who made a hobby of rattling the sabre every time he wanted some concessions or aid from the United States.

The other question that everyone should be asking is whether Obama’s seemingly lackadaisical attitude toward the whole brewing business is a sign that he wants us to go to war.

Obama’s economy is not going well. Despite repeated assurances from the Administration, from the street-level view, the economy is not in “recovery” and hasn’t been since Obama set foot in office. With the latest jobs report, it’s clear we’re on the precipice of another sharp downward turn.

It’s a testimony to the perversion of Obama’s policies that a decline in the jobless numbers, from 7.7 to 7.6 percent in March, represents a worsening of the economy. That’s because only 88,000 jobs were added last month, a little over a third of what was expected and not nearly enough to keep up with population increase.

The seeming improvement in joblessness is because 496,000 — that’s about half a million — people dropped out of the labor force completely, just gave up even hoping for a job.

And with the Fed continuing its misguided policy of pumping more cash into the economy, effectively printing money and decreasing the value of every dollar in your pocket or bank account, things are only going to get worse.

Even Obama’s pocket media agree this jobs report shows how shaky things are. They are trying their best to blame the numbers on Republicans, saying the weak showing is the result of the sequester cuts, which are supposedly the fault of Republicans who didn’t agree to let Obama raise taxes. In reality, the cuts were Obama’s call, and he has been making sure they fall in the most punishing way on public services, such as White House tours, to further the anti-conservative narrative.

But Obama’s falling popularity numbers seem to indicate most of the public puts the sequester blame on Obama’s shoulders, and the narrative about the sequester cuts causing the weak jobs report falls apart because the professional services sector, which is the most likely to be affected by cuts in government contracts, increased hiring last month in line with previous months. So objectively, the sequester cuts haven’t even hit the economy yet.

What really impacted the jobs situation was the tax increases that hit in January because of Obamacare and other Administration-backed programs. As Obama’s policies have driven up costs, businesses have started cutting jobs and not filling open positions.

During the election, Obama was able somehow to paint a rosy picture of his record while demonizing Mitt Romney, who actually would have been good for business, but harsh light of reality is beginning to dawn even on some Obama voters.

Which brings us to the current showdown with North Korea.

Obama is by nature a warmonger, more so than President Bush ever was. Obama has instigated, supported and even funded the overthrow of multiple Muslim nations, ensconcing the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists in power. He has been fueling Syria’s civil war.

His foreign adventures have brought us into conflict with Russia and Iran, dragging NATO into the arena for good measure.

Now we are facing a desperate North Korea, which is supported by both Russia and Iran, and which is ready to start hurling nukes under the hotheaded influence of the young Kim Jong Un.

Obama might just be content to let a full-scale war happen. He must realize his star is falling at this point because of his failure to deliver on economic promises, and Obama is enough of a narcissist that the thought of completing his FDR fantasy and becoming a war-hero president must be appealing to him.

After all, the persistent liberal myth is that World War II ended the Great Depression, when in fact it was the easing of government controls after the war that led to the post-war boom. Obama’s also shown repeatedly a willingness to sacrifice American personnel to further his own agenda. What has he got to lose?

As Secretary of State John Kerry and the rest of the Administration dither, the North Koreans are maneuvering arms and personnel of one of the largest armies on Earth into position, Russian pilots have been practicing taking out U.S. missile defenses such as those we’ve moved to Guam, and Kim has ordered his forces to be prepared to launch nuclear missiles.

Despite Administration and media assurances that North Korean missiles don’t have the range to hit the mainland U.S., there is a danger to folks back home.

Just a few months ago, in December, North Korea successfully put a satellite into orbit. The rocket used is estimated to have a range capable of hitting the U.S., though its accuracy is unknown.

More importantly, the North Koreans could theoretically put a nuclear warhead into orbit and then use simple maneuvering thrusters to drop it on any target they want.

If North Korean scientists are smart, or if they’ve just watched U.S. news media that have practically spelled out how to do it, a nuclear warhead exploded in the proper place in the upper atmosphere could theoretically collapse the U.S. power grid with an electromagnetic pulse.

But all that aside, the real threat of North Korean aggression may come from the White House, from a president hungry for history to recognize him as more than a bumbler who couldn’t get people back to work.